Turnabout Astray
by Ferrety
Summary: Apollo Justice returns to the Wright Anything Agency after missing for two months with a knife at Phoenix Wright's neck. Having little memory of his mentor, the agency is desperate to find what went wrong. Assassin!Apollo and Apollo-centric.
1. Lost and Found

**A/N: This fic is basically an indulgence fic for Assassin!Apollo. Rated T for minor swearing and violence. Enjoy.**

It had been 2 months since Apollo disappeared.

Despite the office being partly crowded as always, the Wright Anything Agency had an empty feel to it. Phoenix Wright shifted uneasily in his office chair, organizing random trial papers out of habit. Trucy was sifting through various documents, desperately trying to find Apollo's whereabouts, and Athena was searching anything she could possibly find through a laptop.

 _Had it always been this quiet?_

Mr. Wright quickly pushed the question away. Now was not the time for irrelevant questions.

2 months ago, on April 20th, Phoenix, Trucy, and Athena lounged lazily in the Wright Anything Agency. Apollo was already late to work by an hour. (although there wasn't any clients or cases lately anyway).

While aimlessly fiddling with his badge, Phoenix's phone suddenly emitted the loud theme of the Steel Samurai. It was Apollo. He casually let the phone ring just a "tiny" bit to listen to his favorite ringtone. When he answered it, Apollo's voice was almost entirely drowned out by the sound of rain and thunder.

"Hey, Mr. Wright," Apollo said. He made no attempt to hide his shortness of breath.

"About time you called!" Phoenix replied, fully knowing that the only job Apollo would have done within his missed time frame was probably cleaning the toilet. "Where have you been?"

Apollo paused for a second. "Sorry I'm late, Mr. Wright. I had some things to take care of. I'm near the Gatewater Hotel."

"Things to take care of?" Mr. Wright's voice was filled with curiosity.

"I'll arrive at work in about an hour," Apollo replied. He avoided the question so obviously that Phoenix heard the sound of psyche locks over the phone.

The phone clicked, and the call was over.

And so Mr. Wright waited. As time passed, the storm outside continued to get more and more violent. He began to wonder if Apollo had brought an umbrella. By the time it was 6:00 PM, Phoenix knew something was wrong. It was already getting dark. Where was Apollo? Trucy began to fret, telling her father to call Apollo. However, before he could begin dialing, his phone rang abruptly.

"Apollo?"

A loud thud echoed from the other side of the phone.

"Apollo?!" Phoenix repeated with more alarm.

Only the sound of rain answered him. Soon after, the phone clicked, and the conversation was over. By now, Trucy and Athena were both staring at him.

It was only one minute later that Phoenix, Trucy, and Athena would hurriedly bike to the Gatewater Hotel after calling the police. One minute too late.

When Phoenix arrived, Detective Ema Skye was already by the Gatewater Hotel. Despite the darkened and clouded sky, the lights of police cars lit the entire area. Although Phoenix's fancy iconic suit was practically drenched, he paid no mind to it. Where was Apollo?

He found Ema and a few men in coats examining the asphalt ground. Scooting closer, he could see a faint crimson stain, almost completely washed by the relentless rain. It was definitely blood. Ema Skye turned to face him.

"The blood is confirmed to be Apollo's. He can't be too far," Ema smiled reassuringly, but her eyes rested on the ground.

Phoenix began questioning anyone he could, treating the incident as if it were a case. He desperately searched for anything that could hold significance.

But he found nothing. Although the scene was too clean to be normal, there was too little to determine Apollo's whereabouts. Sweat made its way down Phoenix's forehead. But he couldn't give up. Not now. He can't. He just _can't_.

So he kept searching.

A week passed without progress. A month. Two months.

That night, on June 20th, Phoenix woke at the sound of footsteps, a grape juice bottle still in his hand. Damn, what time was it? He began to turn his head to the clock beside him, but stopped midway.

He felt a hard, cold metal press against his chin.

His protege Apollo Justice was pointing a knife right at him.

 **A/N: Leave a review on your way out! Thanks for reading.**


	2. At Memory Lane

His name was Apollo Justice, and was supposed to feel fine.

As he made his way through the window, Apollo was felt with a nostalgic air as he stepped into the Wright Anything Agency. Lying like a sloth on the couch was the notorious attorney (and his target)—Phoenix Wright. As he observed his surroundings to find possible escape routes if necessary, he couldn't but feel a bittersweet smile creep up on his face as he saw all the ridiculous clutter of various magician objects. He carefully navigated through both fake and real guns, hats with secret compartments, and a colorful magic coffin.

"Any last words, Mr. Wright?" Apollo's voice came out uncanny and cold, and he showed no emotion. He had to remain a professional, after all.

Phoenix seemed too frozen in shock to speak; it was a reaction common to any other soon-to-be victim. People always seemed to act like what they knew what their death would look like. They were too simplistic and never are cautious on their actions. Pretending that a quick death will never happen to them, people never stop to feel what others believe. Apollo waited for what seemed like a whole minute for an answer, but there was no sound.

"Goodbye," Apollo said, inching the knife closer to Mr. Wright's neck, but he hesitated.

His job was supposed to be easy. He would sneak in at night, kill some lawyer named "Phoenix Wright" and leave. It was simple task just like another other client's request. With a knife in his hand, reached for Phoenix's throat, and paused.

He had no connection the famous lawyer, so then why...

...Why was it so damn hard to do?

It wasn't like the respected lawyer was too tough of a target. His movements were incredibly sluggish, and he didn't seem like the sharpest man around. If he didn't seem to comply, it was said he apparently had a daughter which could be easily used as a threat. And even that wasn't needed; he just had to take a knife and stab him.

His hand was shaking. Fuck, his hand was _shaking_. There was just _something_ that was too familiar with that lawyer. Whatever it was he felt, it had to be shaken off. He was a professional, and he couldn't afford to let it go because of some deja vu. Just take the knife, and...

"Apollo…!"

Instinctively, Apollo put his hand over Phoenix's mouth. Any witnesses could be fatal. He had no time. Now was the moment. He had to thrust the knife into his throat, or chest, or _anywhere_ really. Then the blood would come pouring out, and his client would be satisfied. It was just supposed to be another kill, another victim.

 _But how did he know my name?_

Despite all of his attempts to block any emotion whatsoever, the thought troubled him. Whoever Mr. Wright was, he seemed to know much more than Apollo even knew about himself and had to be silence. Then again, Apollo didn't really know anything about himself anymore. His earliest memory was from only 2 months ago.

That day, on the April 20th, he stood on a high balcony at the Gatewater Hotel. His suit was incredibly soaked, and his ahoges had been so wet that it was pointed downwards. The next thing he knew, there was a violent pain near his shoulder, he felt a violent shove over the railing, and he his vision became blurry.

His memory couldn't tell why he was there, but he knew one thing. On that fateful day, that _sick_ , cursed day…

... the one who pushed him wore an attorney's badge.

Apollo thrust the knife forward, but Phoenix dodged just quick enough in retaliation that the knife only hit his shoulder. The lawyer screamed in pain. _Shit_ , it wasn't enough to kill him! Before taking the weapon back out, his attention instinctively turned to the door. A familiar sight was before him. Trucy Wright, Phoenix's adopted daughter, held a gun in her trembling hand. Apollo knew the gun was definitely real and loaded.

"P-Polly, what are you doing?!" Trucy's voice was quivering. "L-Leave daddy alone!"

Apollo froze.

 **A/N: Thanks for reading! As always, leave a review on your way out.**


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